by Lynn Cahoon
Bleak seemed to consider that qualifier, then nodded. “Look, Allen and Maggie are the best. But if I tell Allen, he’s going to have to do something. And Maggie? Well, she just wouldn’t understand. That woman is so sweet. She’s lived a charmed life. She and Allen dated in high school. Actually, she used the word ‘courted.’ They didn’t have sex until they were married. Can you imagine?”
Angie smiled. She knew that the abstinence curriculum was taught by the local school district. With Maggie and Allen’s strong religious views, it didn’t surprise her, but Bleak had grown up in a different world. Way different. “I really don’t want to talk about Allen and Maggie’s sex life, if you don’t mind. You know I’m dating their nephew.”
“Sorry, I just needed to explain why I needed to talk to you rather than Maggie. She’d never understand, and I need some advice about what to do.”
“What can I help you with?” Angie opened the conversational door. She might regret this later, but maybe Bleak just wanted to talk about work stuff. Felicia should be the one she was talking to; maybe Angie could call in her friend before Bleak went too far, but she stopped her hand from moving to the phone. Bleak had trusted her. She was just going to have to live up to that trust.
“I heard from one of my nieces at home. My aunt is being charged with attempted kidnapping, and they want me not to testify. It will take her out of the house, and she’s the only one who’s working. My uncle, well, he’s busy with the farm.” Bleak dropped her eyes. “If she goes to jail, they won’t have any money.”
“You know your aunt’s actions aren’t your fault, right?” Angie felt for the girl. She was too young to be carrying this kind of weight on her shoulders. She should be thinking about prom and football games, not who was going to feed her relatives.
“I know. And she should be punished. But on the other hand, the church lessons are all about forgiveness. I’m so confused.” Bleak looked like her name, miserable.
“I don’t think you have to make a decision now. There’s going to be a lot of pre-work for this trial and lawyer things. You have some time to decide how you feel. And if you want to testify, or if you don’t, it won’t change the way Maggie and Allen feel about you.” Angie smiled, “Or the way your work family feels. We’re here to support you in whatever you decide. But it’s your decision. Not your aunt’s or any of us here. It’s what you want. You were the victim.”
“I feel bad for her.”
“You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t. This has proven how strong you really are.” Angie decided to change the conversation’s tone. “Hope tells me you’ve been asked to the winter formal. Are you going?”
Bleak’s face turned bright red. “I don’t know yet. Ty is a drummer. He’s not one of those band geeks, but he’s passionate about music. I guess he’s cool.”
And I guess you’re a little bit in love with him. But Angie didn’t say that out loud. Instead she glanced at her watch. “Getting close to time for prep. Are you okay?”
Bleak nodded. “It helps having your opinion. I know you don’t have a vested interest in either side.”
Angie stood, following her out of the office. “You’re wrong there. I do have a side. I want you to be happy, no matter what the choice is. And I’m here to support you, no matter what you decide.”
Bleak glanced back over her shoulder and smiled. The emotion behind it was so rare and true, Angie had to take a short breath. “Thanks, Angie. I love working here.”
Angie stayed at the chef table long after service had ended. Felicia came in and sat next to her, putting her feet up on a chair. She groaned as she wiggled her bare toes. “Maybe I need to rethink wearing heels for service.”
“The dining room already empty?” Angie glanced up from the laptop where she’d been searching for any information on the internet about Susan Ansley.
“Almost empty. Jeorge is still serving a few stragglers at the bar, but I told them they need to drink up and head out before our eleven p.m. closing time. They’re probably going over to the Red Eye. I’m not sure they want to stop drinking yet.” Felicia shook her head. “Now, I can party as hard as most, but on a Wednesday night?”
“They are friends of Jon Ansley from his law office.” Estebe put a bowl of potato and leek soup in front of both Angie and Felicia. Then he went back to the stove to get one for himself. “They came in when the restaurant had just opened and sat at the bar until their table was ready. I recognized that Jon from the stories from the news. His buddy said it was a kind of going-away party, but that he’d bounce back.”
“When did you talk to them?” Felicia held her spoon poised over the bowl, staring at Estebe.
“I told you. Before service started. Jeorge already had the bar open, so I let them inside to wait for their reservation.” Estebe focused on his soup. “I didn’t see the harm.”
“I just hate for people to drink their dinner.” Angie shook her head. “Not our problem, as long as they’re not too drunk.”
“Actually, now that I think about it—” Felicia ate the bite from her spoon, then used it as a pointer to emphasize what she was about to say. “Jeorge said they’ve been nursing the same mixed drink for the last hour since they came over from their dinner table. I guess they aren’t out partying, more like just talking.”
Angie stared at the door to the dining room like she could see through the wood. “I wonder if they were talking about the soybean plant.”
“It makes sense. Even though Ansley’s off the project, he’d want his firm to do well with it.” Estebe nodded. “Although I think it’s a little callous to be making plans for destroying Angie’s farmhouse in her own restaurant.”
“Yeah, but it’s close to Jon’s house.” Angie stood and strode to the door.
“Where are you going?” Felicia called after her.
She didn’t turn around but paused at the door. “To see what they know about the company who wants to buy my property and if they’d even considered a new site. If I could get it in their heads that plan B is less of a hassle, maybe they’ll just go away.”
But when she reached the bar area, it was deserted, except for Jeorge, who was filling out his post-shift inventory sheet. He started as she sat down at one of the bar stools. “Ms. Turner, I didn’t expect to see you tonight.”
“Oh? Why not?” She moved some of the happy hour menus away from the cash register and more to the end of the bar.
“I just mean, you usually go home after a long shift like this. Felicia is usually the one who takes my report and my register drawer.” He glanced at the bottles on the wall. “Did you want a drink? I can make you something as a nightcap.”
“I have to drive home, so I’m sticking with coffee to fill my travel mug.” She leaned closer. “Those last few customers, did you hear what they were talking about?”
Jeorge glanced at the doorway, then leaned on his forearms. “The one guy, he’d gotten laid off or fired or something. The others seemed to be pumping him for information about the client he’d been working with. I guess his replacement hadn’t been picked yet, and they all wanted to take over for him. I thought it was a little cold. You invite your buddy out to drinks to support him, but then want to take over his job?”
“Did they get anything from him?” Angie started to stand, thinking this was a dead end.
Jeorge shrugged. “It didn’t make any sense. Not to me or to the other guys, but the unemployed guy, he said something like no one would be able to please this client and that they might as well go sniffing around someone else because he wasn’t telling them anything.”
“That’s all?”
“Mostly, but I thought he was going to punch someone when they said something about his wife and how he really should be figuring out why that guy is still in town.” He glanced around the shiny bar. “Okay if I head out? I told my girl we’d go grab a bite before heading ho
me.”
“Leave your report on the bar. Felicia’s grabbing some food. See you tomorrow.” Angie waved as she moved toward the kitchen.
When she stepped inside, both Felicia and Estebe were watching her.
“So, what did you find out?” Felicia asked at the same time as Estebe.
“Come sit down and eat. You need the energy.” He turned toward Felicia. “You need to let her eat.”
“I’m fine, guys. But I am hungry.” Angie sat down. “And they were already gone by the time I got out there. Bad timing, I guess.”
Estebe stood and took her bowl back to the stove. When he returned, he said, “Or good timing if one of them really did kill his wife.”
Chapter 6
Thursday morning there was a thin layer of snow on the ground when Angie went out to feed Precious and Mabel. The hen clucked a little at her, but Precious was almost dancing in her stall. The barn had a door that swung back and forth so she could go outside when she wanted, but it was set up in a kind of foyer area so it didn’t let wind or snow inside. Ian had designed it for the goat and built it last summer.
“Are you excited to get out and play in the snow this morning?” Angie filled her food trough and then rubbed the goat’s neck.
When a loud bleat came from Precious, Angie laughed, but Mabel moved back to her roosting area in between two straw bales. She probably wouldn’t go outside until spring unless the cold disappeared one day.
Angie pulled her coat closer. “I think I agree, Mabel. I’m ready for spring, too.”
Back inside the house, Angie made a pot of coffee instead of just a cup at a time. She took what was left of the breakfast casserole and put it in the oven to warm, then she pulled out her mom’s journal. She didn’t have to be at the restaurant until three. Her “investigation” for Barb was going nowhere. And she couldn’t call Maggie and tell her that Bleak was fine until after nine, when Bleak would be at school.
She had time to find out what kind of teenager her mom had been.
By the time she set the journal down, the pot of coffee was gone and so was the breakfast casserole. She glanced up at a picture of Nona and her mother that Angie had hung on the wall when she moved in. “Oh, Nona, how did you live through my rebellious teenager stage?”
The smile on her grandmother’s face seemed to say, It wasn’t hard because I loved you both. At least, that’s what Angie heard in her head. Her mom had been quite the party girl. At least in high school. Angie had thought her parents hadn’t met until college, but she’d never guessed how wild her mom had been. Maybe it was the vibe from the yearbooks she had from her mom’s high school years, but Angie had always thought of her mom as practical and well prepared. For anything.
Thinking of teenagers, she realized it was almost ten. Maggie needed to know that Bleak was alright and just dealing with the ramifications of the upcoming trial. She picked up the phone and dialed Maggie’s number. Instead of getting Maggie, though, Allen Brown picked up the call.
“Should I be concerned that you’re getting my wife into one of your schemes to investigate this most recent murder in River Vista?”
“Actually, she should be concerned that you’re screening her calls. What’s going on with the investigation, anyway? Did you find out who it was?”
He sighed. “Yes. The media already has this, so I guess it’s not a problem telling you. She was the wife of a local decorator. They ran a shop together in Boise. He’s devastated, from what I could tell. And, strangely enough, he thought his wife was visiting her mother.”
Angie took in a breath. “You’re thinking the cases are connected?”
“It’s too soon to tell, but it is interesting. Keep my wife out of this, okay?”
Maggie’s laughter bubbled in the background on the other end of the line, then she must have taken the cell from her husband. “Sorry about that. I was just getting the newspaper off the porch. My husband thinks you’re a bad influence on me, which makes me like you even more. What’s going on?”
Angie told her the basics of Bleak’s visit yesterday without, she hoped, breaking any confidence. “I’d rather you not mention to Bleak that I called. I just didn’t want you to keep worrying. I believe she’ll figure out what she’s going to do on her own.”
“No child that age should be put in that predicament. I don’t understand what her aunt was thinking.” The line went quiet for a minute. “Anyway, I’m glad you called. You and Ian should come over Sunday for dinner.”
“I’m in an investigation, dear. I may not be here for dinner,” Allen said in the background.
“Well, I wasn’t inviting you, now, was I?” She chuckled. “I guess we should play it by ear.”
After hanging up with Maggie, she texted Ian the possible Sunday commitment. Then she glanced at the clock again. She had five hours to kill before she left for work. And a lot on her mind. She pulled out a notebook and started writing down everything she knew about the missing Susan Ansley. That didn’t take long. She sighed as she reviewed her notes. She knew her real mother. That she’d been raised by an aunt. And that her husband was a complete jerk. Okay, so that was a personal observation, but it didn’t mean it wasn’t true. She loved her dog. That was something Jon had told her earlier.
She texted Felicia. They’d had to put off the chat with Susan’s friend until today. Maybe Felicia would be open to grabbing some lunch afterward. Felicia hung with this crowd, at least for the yoga classes. Maybe she had some insight she didn’t realize was important.
When she read the response, Angie glanced at the clock again. She didn’t have five hours to kill. She was expected in River Vista in less than an hour. Angie glanced at the paper calendar she kept on the kitchen desk. She hadn’t written down the meeting time when Felicia had called her yesterday. She really needed to get better at making a point of reviewing her calendar and adding things when she scheduled them.
She parked behind the restaurant with five minutes to spare. Felicia must have been watching for her because she came out of the back door and hurried to the car. The ski parka she wore should have been warm enough for a trip to Alaska mid-winter, but Felicia still looked chilled.
Rubbing her hands together through the leather gloves, Felicia reached to turn up the heat as soon as she was inside the car. “Don’t tell me you forgot about this.”
“I did. I can’t believe I didn’t write it down or something.”
Felicia laughed as she put on her seat belt. “My fault. I should have called you this morning. I know how you get when you think you have kitchen time. Head down the highway to Columbia and turn right. The subdivision that Holly and Susan lived in is a couple miles east on the right.”
“I wasn’t cooking this morning. I found my mom’s high school journal and started reading. Man, she gave my grandmother a hard time. I guess I always thought she was perfect, or at least a little calmer than she seemed from her writing. She was part of the cheerleading squad. I would have never tried out.”
Felicia looked at her funny.
“What?”
“You have to realize that you’re not the person you would have been if your parents had lived. You are you because your grandmother raised you. If your mom had been alive during your high school years, you might have taken another path.” Felicia pointed to the crossroad ahead. “That’s Columbia. Take a right, and the subdivision’s called Mountain View Estates.”
“I thought we were meeting at the coffee shop. The name of the subdivision’s not very original,” Angie said, but she was thinking about Felicia’s words. The path she’d taken had been because of her Nona’s love for food, which she’d passed on to Angie during her school years. Who would she have been if she’d been raised by her parents instead?
“You’re thinking too hard. I can hear the wheels turning from here.” Felicia looked over at her as they made the turn. “Are you okay?
”
“I’m just thinking about mothers and daughters. It’s been a lot of what’s going on lately. I find my mom’s journal. Barb’s worried about her Sunny. Maggie’s worried about Bleak. Of course, she’s not her real mom, but she’s stepped into the role.” Angie slowed down and entered one of many new roundabouts the county highway division had installed on the main country roads, especially those that were closer to city limits.
“Maggie’s not just acting as Bleak’s mom; she’s being the role. Being a mom doesn’t always mean you gave birth. You take care of your kitchen staff like a parent would.” Felicia giggled. “And you have my boyfriend as your staff’s father figure.”
“Gross, but accurate. I guess you’re the baby mama? Or maybe I am, and you’re the new trophy wife.” Angie slowed down for a tractor that was taking up more than one lane and seemed to be turning into a field just a few feet in front of them. Of course, a few feet took much longer to travel with the tractor and its attached plow than even the slowest car ever would.
“Don’t get tied up in the titles. Just know that people care for others. That’s when the relationships really become important.” Felicia pressed her lips together. “I’ve been thinking about Holly. If we can, maybe we shouldn’t talk about Barb and her involvement.”
Angie did a quick double take. “You don’t think that Holly would understand?”
“I don’t think that Holly wouldn’t use the information against Susan at some point.” Felicia’s words were blunt.
Angie’s jaw dropped as she turned the car onto the entry road for the subdivision. A man sat in a brick gatehouse in the middle of the road, but after he took a peek into the car, he waved them on inside. “I can’t believe you said that. Aren’t they friends?”
“Friendship has a totally different meaning for these people. I’m so glad I have you and Estebe to keep me grounded. If I thought these people were normal, it would scare me.” Felicia glanced at the numbers on the mailboxes.